BAGHDAD, Iraq (CNN) — An attacker wearing a suicide vest killed 42 people and injured others at a funeral for a tribal leader in a northern Iraqi Sunni village dominated by the American-backed awakening movement, police said.
Awakening movement members with U.S. troops in January: The Sunni group is fighting Al Qaeda in Iraq. Police believe the strike appears to be latest assault to intimidate members of the awakening — predominantly Sunnis Muslims who have joined forces with the U.S. and Iraqi governments. The attack took place in Albu Mohammed, where mourners attended the funeral of Sheikh Ibrahim Aref al-Azzawi, a tribal leader in the predominantly Sunni village, police in the Diyala town of Khalis said. Witnesses say the injured have been taken to hospitals in Salaheddin province and in Kirkuk. It is not clear in what province the village is located. The sheikh is not a member of the local Awakening Council, but police believe he and the mourners were targeted because of their sympathies to the movement, which is cutting into what has been the insurgents’ base of support.
(Source:CNN)